TWO ex-racehorses topped their divisions of the Intro dressage at last Saturday’s third round of the Baileys Horse Feeds flexi eventing series which is hosted by the Northern Region of Eventing Ireland in conjunction with The Meadows Equestrian Centre.

In Section A, Banbridge’s Michael McGaffin won for the second week in succession on the seven-year-old Dylan Thomas gelding Ballela In Milan (73%), who is being produced by Julie Donaghy Simpson for Zara McAvoy, while Sweet Wall Eventing’s Lucca Stubington claimed Section C on her own Kessler (75%).

This seven-year-old Flemensfirth gelding is a half-brother to the six-time winner My Sister Sarah (by Martaline) who presently holds an entry in both the Close Brothers/David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle and the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham.

The pair are out of Reste Ren Or who is a Goldneyev half-sister to J’Y Vole (by Mansonnien).

Kessler was purchased for €38,000 as a three-year-old at the 2018 Derby Sale by the Crawford Brothers but, having failed to add to his family’s CV in two runs in bumpers in 2020, the chesnut was sold at the end of that year to Stubington.

The start to Kessler’s second career was delayed as he injured himself jumping out of a field but hopefully, having seen off 23 rivals so impressively on Saturday, he can kick on from here.

Another former Stuart Crawford charge, the Darsi gelding Royal Sea Breeze, won a Preliminary class at the Dressage Ireland Northern Region show held at Gransha Equestrian on Saturday. This was a first start in affiliated company for the 13-year-old bay who is now in the care of Carrickfergus’s Alex Wallace. This combination won the George Stewart racehorse to riding horse class at the Saintfield Horse Show, held in Danescroft, last August.

Bluegrass unites with Down Royal

FOLLOWING a successful partnership in 2020, Bluegrass Horse Feeds will once again be title sponsor for next month’s St Patrick’s Day meeting at Down Royal.

The company, which is renowned for manufacturing a premium range of nutritionally sound, innovative horse feeds, is devoted to the advancement of horse nutrition and has developed a product range that meets the needs of today’s equine athletes.

Working in tandem with Kentucky Equine Research, Bluegrass Horse Feeds’ broad spectrum of products is underpinned by world-renowned research and expertise in equine nutrition.

“Building long-standing relationships with our sponsors is really important to us and Bluegrass, a brand synonymous with premium equine horse feeds, is the perfect partner for Down Royal racecourse,” said the track’s Director of Sales and Marketing, Claire Rutherford.

John Rymer, Sales & Marketing Consultant at Bluegrass Horse Feed commented: “The team at Bluegrass is once again looking forward to partnering with Down Royal racecourse as official sponsor of the St Patrick’s Day race meeting.

“Aligning the Bluegrass brand alongside one of Ireland’s most reputable race tracks provides us with the ideal platform to engage with both equestrian owners and racing enthusiasts, and to advocate the true value and benefits of our product range.”